A new set of solar cells built in Sylmar will help the International Space Station extend cutting-edge orbital research capabilities and commercial opportunities for years to come, it was announced Monday.
Spectrolab, a Boeing company based in Sylmar, produces XTJ Prime solar cells, some of the most powerful ever launched into space, which operate with the space station’s new solar panels, according to Boeing.
They are the same solar cells that power Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in flight and while docked to the ISS. Spectrolab also produced the station’s original solar cells, as well as the solar cells tested on the prototype.
The modification to Boeing’s ISS sustainment contract with NASA calls for Boeing to deliver six additional solar arrays — or panels — to NASA for installation beginning this year.
The new 63-foot-by-20-foot arrays will together produce more than 120 kilowatts of electricity from the sun’s energy, enough to power more than 40 average U.S. homes.
Combined with the eight original, larger panels, this advanced hardware will provide a 20% to 30% increase in power, helping to maximize the station’s capabilities for years to come.
The arrays will provide the station with electricity to sustain its systems and equipment, plus augment the electricity available to continue a wide variety of public and private experiments and research in the station’s unique microgravity environment.
“When it comes to game-changing research and technological development, the space station is currently hitting its full stride,” said John Mulholland, ISS vice president and program manager for Boeing.
“These arrays, along with other recent upgrades to the station’s power system and data-transfer speed, will ensure that ISS remains an incubator and business model in the commercial space ecosystem for the coming decades. Access to this unique lab will continue to pay off as researchers study the challenges of future deep-space exploration and make discoveries that improve life on Earth.”
Deployable Space Systems of Santa Barbara will produce the structure of the new panels, including the canister and frame that will unfurl to hold the solar-array blankets in place. Deployable Space Systems also built the canister, frame and solar array blanket for a prototype of the new arrays that was successfully tested aboard the ISS in June 2017.
“The XTJ Prime space solar cells are much more efficient than any of their predecessors and are fit to support the cutting-edge research being done aboard the International Space Station,” said Tony Mueller, president of Spectrolab.